An Overview on the Tribological Performance of Titanium Alloys with Surface Modifications for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The need for metallic biomaterials will always remain high with their growing demand in joint replacement in the aging population. This creates need for the market and researchers to focus on the development and advancement of the biometals. Desirable characteristics such as excellent biocompatibility, high strength, comparable elastic modulus with bones, good corrosion resistance, and high wear resistance are the significant issues to address for medical implants, particularly load-bearing orthopedic implants. The widespread use of titanium alloys in biomedical implants create a big demand to identify and assess the behavior and performance of these alloys when used in the human body. Being the most commonly used metal alloy in the fabrication of medical implants, mainly because of its good biocompatibility and corrosion resistance together with its high strength to weight ratio, the tribological behavior of these alloys have always been an important subject for study. Titanium alloys with improved wear resistance will of course enhance the longevity of implants in the body. In this paper, tribological performance of titanium alloys (medical grades) is reviewed. Various methods of surface modifications employed for titanium alloys are also discussed in the context of wear behavior.

Effect of space holder percent on the porosity biocompatibility of nano Ti foam by PM technique

“…So, Results showed no toxic effect on the life cells. The samples were safe as known in previous work [23,24,25]. It is noticed that cells in the medium around the Ti foam samples are more than that on the surface of samples.…”

New Nanostructured Carbon Coating Inhibits Bacterial Growth, but Does Not Influence on Animal Cells

“…It was shown that cells growing on nitinol medical alloy and nanosized carbon coating have similar growth and development rates (Figure 8). Of course, nitinol is not the most modern and advanced medical alloy [36], but it is still widely used for the manufacture of implants.…”

Microstructure and Properties of h-BN-Reinforced Titanium Alloy Matrix Composite Fabricated with Optimized Spark Plasma Sintering Parameters

“…Moreover, increased wear rate can be facilitated by large plastic deformation of the ductile matrix, whereas incorporating a harder reinforcing phase (h-BN) in the ductile matrix to some degree can lessen its ductility thereby reducing the propensity to wear easily [46,49]. The mechanism for improving the wear resistance properties of the composite can also be attributed to the inherent lubricating effect of the h-BN reinforcing phase on the worn surface, which in turn resulted in enhanced load bearing capacity of the surface and improved lubrication as wear proceeded [50][51].…”